AEP leader: Coal is here to stay

CHARLESTON, W.Va., Aug. 11 (UPI) -- Coal will be integral to U.S. energy and economic growth, said the head of a major U.S. utility.

Michael Morris, the chairman, president and chief executive officer of American Electric Power, told the directors of the West Virginia Coal Association that coal is necessary to provide cost-effective electricity, the Charleston Daily Mail reported.

Morris divided Congress up into those representatives who understand that coal cannot be ruled out as an energy supply and those who don't understand.

He criticized those who refuse to get behind an energy policy that includes coal and a carbon storage and cap-and-trade program, both of which, Morris told British newspaper the Daily Mail, also will be vital to the nation's future. He also criticized the Department of Energy for ending the FutureGen program, which would have helped commercialize new coal technology.

Traditional coal burning has been looked down on for its emissions, but Morris said American Electric Power is focused on new coal technologies such as Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle.

AEP's plans for an IGCC plant, however, have been put on hold because of a lack of funding.